Meek turns the tide with TD return

Sunday

Aug 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMAug 30, 2009 at 11:52 AM

Surrounded by teammates' howling and chanting, Brookhaven sophomore Jonzell Meek must have felt like he was tiptoeing through a minefield yesterday as he fielded questions in his first interview with the media.

Surrounded by teammates' howling and chanting, Brookhaven sophomore Jonzell Meek must have felt like he was tiptoeing through a minefield yesterday as he fielded questions in his first interview with the media.

Eluding 11 Marion-Franklin players on a 93-yard kickoff return for his first touchdown must have been simple by comparison.

The return early in the fourth quarter set the tone for visiting Brookhaven in a 23-21 nonconference win over Marion-Franklin in a meeting of City League powers.

The game was resumed after being called early in the second quarter because of lightning the night before.

Until the fourth quarter, the showdown was mostly a sloppy, penalty-marred game pitting Brookhaven's defensive quickness against Marion-Franklin's behemoth offensive line.

Marion-Franklin pulled even at 14-14 when quarterback Verlon Reed raced 62 yards for a touchdown. But Meek's return on the ensuing kickoff silenced the home crowd and quickly ended the Red Devils' momentum.

"I don't know what to say. I saw a big opening, hit it and just turned it on," Meek said.

Coach Anthony Thornton said, "Jonzelle ran the lead leg on our state qualifying 4x100 and 4x200 relays last year, and I talked about trying him on kickoffs and just sent him out there on the spur of the moment.

"After the big play their quarterback made, I guess it became one of those types of games when somebody lands the first blow, the other team answers and the volleys continue the rest of the game."

The Bearcats took a seemingly safe 23-14 lead with 3:47 left on a 31-yard field goal by Prince Gboya, who prevented a touchdown with a tackle on a kickoff return Friday.

But on the next play, Reed found Paul Harris for a 75-yard touchdown pass to make it 23-21. After a defensive stand, Marion-Franklin regained possession at its 38-yard line with 2:41 remaining.

Reed drove the Red Devils to the Bearcats 27, but an errant shotgun snap resulted in a 6-yard loss.

After an intentional spike to stop the clock left Marion-Franklin with fourth-and-10 at the 33, coach Brian Haffele called on kicker Joe Little, whose field goal attempt fell about 5 yards short with seconds left.

"He's made field goals that far in practice before," Haffele said. "To even have that chance after playing as badly as we did was a testament to us. I told the kids all week that the team with the least amount of mistakes was going to win, and that's exactly what happened."

Thornton said he felt fortunate to escape with a victory against a team that the Bearcats could face in the Division II playoffs.

"My heart was in my feet on that last drive," he said. "Marion-Franklin fought their behinds off and my kids made some good plays as well. Our young quarterback (Tajuan Green) played a nice ballgame and kept his composure."